


Interplanetary Lampoon's Risian Vacation

by bongbingbong



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Another Risa episode basically, Gen, Jadzia and Keiko love their dank ass space weed, M/M, Nightmares, Recreational Drug Use, but this time it's a free for all, literally every holiday trope in existence wrapped up in a wacky slapstick rom com
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:07:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24335608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bongbingbong/pseuds/bongbingbong
Summary: Jadzia is taking everyone on a ladies' weekend, and for some reason they've brought Garak along with them. Julian Bashir's friends decide that this is the best possible time for them to bring him along too, and get him in a room with Garak somewhere they can really relax and talk. And... you know.Except of course, that this was never going to go smoothly.Featuring the Deep Space Discord shameless self-insert crew, for extra shenanigans!
Relationships: Julian Bashir/Elim Garak
Comments: 30
Kudos: 33
Collections: Deep Space Discord Literary Universe





	1. Chapter 1

It was what passed for late afternoon on Deep Space Nine when the runabout containing Jadzia Dax and her “ladies’ weekend” crew left for Risa. The vibe on the little ship was electric as she set off in search of sunshine and relaxation, joined by her dear friends Keiko, Kira, Bond and Ahna Lili from security, and Irena (their friend from the holosuite, who was as due for a holiday as the rest of them were). Oh, and Garak. Jadzia was a little unsure of why Keiko had insisted on bringing him along, but he was an amiable enough companion and had designed and made them all extremely fetching beachwear for the occasion, so she was happy to go along with it. In fact, his shop now sported an extremely daring Hawaiian shirt section, complete with prints of colourful fruits, plants, and landmarks from a number of different planets. Jadzia knew this, because there was a bright orange one with Bajoran lilacs printed all over it currently hanging in Odo's room, which she was hoping he would take the hint about. Perhaps when she returned.

Ahna and Kira had both volunteered to man the helm together after vehemently protesting Jadzia’s desire to try and hotbox the Defiant (“We are _not_ flying with the entire crew high, Dax!”). It was nice for the two of them to have company away from the rest of the group - not that they weren’t excited to spend a weekend away with them, but Jadzia had just pulled out an electro dance remix of a Klingon opera that everyone was currently either laughing uproariously at or dancing to. It was a lot for the two generally reserved Bajorans to handle.

“What does Worf think of this anyway?” Keiko shouted over the din, grinning from ear to ear.

“He hates it!” said Jadzia, “that’s why I got the album in the first place!”

"You're awful!" laughed Keiko.

“Nonsense! It's true love,” said Garak, putting his hand over his heart. He hadn’t gotten up to dance, but he was swaying gently from side to side with a small smile on his face. Jadzia decided that perhaps she wouldn’t mind him being here so much after all.

*

“Where the hell is he?” said Savannah. She and Susan were standing at the airlock where the USS Cochrane was currently docked, but would only remain so for another fifteen minutes or so. Considering they were essentially hitching a ride in exchange for a hand with some of their new computer systems, the fact that Julian hadn’t arrived yet was less than ideal.

“Maybe he forgot something,” shrugged Susan.

“Forgot something? Look at these bags. That, that one, that one, _and_ that little green one there are _all his_. What else could he possibly need to bring? We’re only going to be away for one weekend!”

“I dunno, we’re going to Risa so I don’t want to think about what he’s got in there.”

Savannah stared at Susan while the gears turned in her head.

“God! Susan, we’re not going on holiday for that!”

“Until we finally get him in the same room as Garak, anyway” said Susan, wiggling her eyebrows, “how is the situation going there anyway?” 

“Well… actually,” said Savannah, “he ended up getting slightly wasted last night at Quark’s, and apparently Garak’s been ignoring him? As in, he tried to actually go and have a proper talk, but Garak just sidestepped everything and then told him to have a nice day. At least that’s what I got from the conversation, it was hard to make out, the poor thing kept doing that drunk thing he does where he tries not to cry and he just ends up mumbling in a really high-pitched voice.”

“Oof. That’s rough. I can’t say I’m surprised though, imagine thinking you could corner Garak.”

Savannah shook her head in disbelief, “yep, pretty much that! Computer, how long until the Cochrane is due to depart?”

The computer chimed in response, “twelve minutes until the departure of the USS Cochrane.”

“Shit,” said Savannah, “where _is_ he?”

“You don’t think he’s hungover or something from last night?” said Susan. Both of their eyes widened in sudden fear. At that moment, two sets of erratic-sounding metallic footfalls clanged into earshot as Julian Bashir rounded the corner and skidded to a halt, followed by a very frazzled looking Robertson - their friend the literacy/literature teacher - with a backpack slung over their shoulder.

“Sorry we’re late,” said Julian breathlessly, waving Robertson over, “I just thought, phew! I just thought we ought to invite Robertson along, because they’ve been-”

“I’m more than delighted to have Robertson along,” said Susan, “but we need to be on that ship as of _right now_! Tell us when we’re in there!”

*

It turned out, the reason Julian wanted Robertson along was because they’d been asking for something to help them sleep, which had turned into a conversation about why they hadn’t been sleeping. As he’d discovered through a series of questions to an increasingly irritable Robertson, a sudden influx of assignments, newcomers to the writer's group, important station communiques, reports and one presentation speech that Sisko was particularly nervous about that needed proofreading had all been arriving in a steady stream, one after the other. On top of their usual work, it was at the point where the incessant chattering of the words they had been reading just “wouldn’t shut the hell up,” even at night. Julian had promptly diagnosed them with stress and exhaustion, and demanded that they come along for the weekend. However, given their status as a consultant rather than a commissioned officer, Julian’s medical override had no sway. 

“But that doesn’t mean I can’t be so irritating that you have no choice but to agree with me,” said Julian, resting his hand on his chin with a fond smile. The four of them had checked into one of the spare crew quarters - not that they’d need to sleep there anyway given the short drop-off time. There was a pleasant faux-wooden table in the middle of the room, comfortable chairs, and cups of Tarkalean tea all around. Robertson gave him a tired smile.

“Yes, well. I wouldn’t call you irritating by any stretch of the imagination, but you were certainly very persuasive. And I don’t really have the energy to fight anyone on anything. Frankly I barely have any idea where I am right now.”

Julian beamed back, “Well, I'm glad I convinced you before you could make a more thought out but inevitably poorer decision!"

“By the way,” said Robertson, taking a sip of their tea and rubbing their free hand over their eyes, “what ship _are_ we on?”

“The Cochrane,” said Savannah, “geez, you did get them out of there a hurry, huh.”

Robertson’s eyes widened, “the Cochrane? Oh, god.”

They set their tea down, wandered over to a bunk, and then flopped down on it, pulling the pillow over their head. Julian looked confused for a second, before he seemed to realise something too.

“Yeah actually, I think that’s not a bad idea if you don’t like loud noises.” said Julian, going to retrieve his own pillow.

“Wait, why did you-” began Susan, but she was cut off with an announcement over the ship’s comms that blared so loudly they all winced.

“Welcome back on board to all you cool cats and regular joes! You’re on board the USS Cochrane, and as is tradition for our departure in honour of our namesake, I’m proud to present to you Captain Maggie C Clark’s super sound of the sixties - you all know this one!”

All Savannah and Susan could do was stare at Julian - who had a pillow over each ear - in disbelief when Steppenwolf’s _Magic Carpet Ride_ blasted from the ship’s speakers at full volume.

*

The suite was big. No, it was _huge_. The whole thing was separated into two main rooms - a lavish sitting area on one level, and then two steps down brought them into a sleeping area populated by soft, plush-looking beds. Everything seemed to be draped in richly coloured fabrics, and all of the furniture seemed to be designed specifically for lounging. Large, curtained windows flooded the room with soft sunlight, and the air smelled faintly of wildflowers. It was, in all-

“Gorgeous!” said Keiko, slinging her bag down on the nearest bed and flopping down onto it. “Oh, there’s so much space in here, I love it!” 

“Everything is so soft,” sighed Jadzia, running one hand along the blanket that covered her bed.

“Good news guys, complimentary mini bar!” called Bond from the sitting room. She already had several tiny bottles of booze lined up on the counter, and was ordering them from smallest to tallest.

“Bond, Risa is a Federation planet - everything here is complimentary,” said Irena, swiping several of the tiny bottles and then going down to select a bed.

“Oh yeah. Guess I don’t have to replace these ones with tea then.”

Bond went over to check the room out.

“Anyone got a problem with me taking that bed nearest to the door?” she said, “I’d prefer to be the first one up if we get attacked.”

“If it makes you feel better,” called Jadzia.

“Nice, thanks.”

Ahna and Kira were left standing awkwardly down the end of the room, trying to decide where they would put their bags down. Ahna watched Garak warily out of the corner of her eye, noticing that he was pointedly not looking in their direction, hovering down the opposite end of the room. He was making his best attempt to look casual, his bag still slung across his shoulder. A completely irrational, yet very real bolt of nervousness shot through her chest.

“Um, Jadzia,” said Kira slowly, turning around to take in the whole room, “I think you might have messed something up here.”

“Hmm?” said Jadzia, already halfway through unpacking and arranging her belongings on her bedside table (mostly a collection of extremely expensive-looking vintage bongs).

“I think we’re a bed short,” said Kira. The rest of the people in the room peered around, silently counting.

“Oh, I invited Garak late,” said Keiko softly.

“Never mind that, Mrs O’Brien,” said Garak with a smile that was slightly too bright, “I’ll make do on the floor, and one of you can have this spot. There appears to be space in the corner over there, perhaps we can call for a mattress?”

The space in question was in the corner closest to the empty bed near Kira and Ahna, and the two of them drew imperceptibly closer together at the implication. The room had gone strangely quiet, nobody wanting to give a voice to the fragile standoff that had suddenly wormed its way into their weekend away. Garak had made no move to come towards them, his expression and stance tentative. Was he asking for permission?

“I don’t think that would be a good idea,” said Kira, defaulting to her formal officer voice. Garak took a step back and inclined his head.

“It would be no trouble,” he said smoothly.

“No, but you’re… it wouldn’t be…” said Kira, fumbling for a reason.

“You’re too old!” blurted out Ahna, “you might… hurt. Something.”

Garak looked mildly taken aback, like he wasn’t sure if he ought to be offended or not.

“I can sleep on the floor,” Ahna continued quickly, “and Kira can take this bed. And Garak can take that bed. Over there.” she gestured to the bed near Garak on the other side of the room.

Garak looked to Kira for confirmation.

“Or I could sleep on the floor, and _you_ could take the bed,” said Kira, narrowing her eyes at Ahna. The tension grew as the two of them eyed each other off.

“Here’s an idea,” said Irena, from where she was reclined on her own bed, propped up on her elbows, “how about the two of you share, given that these beds could probably comfortably fit at least three of us in at once?”

“Oh!” said Ahna, blushing slightly.

“Um.” said Kira, looking kind of sheepish, “if you’re okay with that arrangement… I would be too?”

Despite her best attempts, the statement had come out as a question. Ahna smiled.

“Well I daresay it’s not the worst place either of us have slept in.”

As one, they tossed their bags onto the bed. 

“Don’t get too comfy guys!” said Jadzia, which was ironic given that she was already sprawled across her bedcover, “the beach awaits!”

*

The room that Savannah had managed to book (a slightly more last-minute affair given that the decision had been made _after_ discovering Garak's holiday plans) was significantly smaller, but just as cozy. Three beds sat in three different corners of the room, each equipped with a bedside table. There was a larger, round table in the middle that was perfect for a meal, or a game of poker. There was one specific problem, however.

“One of us is going to have to share,” said Savannah. She and Susan exchanged a glance, and then looked shyly over at Julian, who shrugged.

“I can sleep anywhere, so I’m happy to share with one of you guys!”

“Good,” said Robertson, their voice a little shaky, “because I can’t share with any of you. Happy to take the floor, but if we’re in the same bed I won’t sleep. S-sorry.”

“No! I was the one who dragged you off on a holiday. If you guys don’t mind though, maybe we can rock-paper-scissors for it?” said Julian, like Savannah wasn’t starting to feel slightly dizzy at the prospect of possibly sharing a bed. And being warm. And close. Did Julian cuddle in his sleep?

“No, actually, you guys can share. I’m with Rob on this one, Julian looks like he’s a wriggler,” said Susan, dumping her bag on another bed. 

Savannah's eyes widened, "are... are you _sure?"_ she said.

“Um. Susan's actually right about the wriggling though,” said Julian sheepishly, “and I’ve got it on good authority that I talk in my sleep sometimes as well. Sorry, on second thoughts maybe we should see if there’s another room we can-”

“No!” said Savannah quickly, “nope, it’s fine. I’m a terrible sleeper as well, so maybe we’ll cancel each other out.”

Julian put on an extremely animated expression of mock-surprise.

“Really? I think it might be better if I go and stay by myself though, alone. In another room. That way, we can all have our own beds!”

Savannah stared at him wide-eyed, and then frowned. The effect from Julian’s perspective was that of facing off with an extremely disgruntled bunny rabbit.

“You’re fucking with me again, aren’t you?” she said.

Julian grinned.

“You little shit!” 

“Heads!” called Susan, tossing a pillow in Savannah’s direction, which she swiftly caught, giving Julian mere moments to shriek in half-fear, half-laughter before she proceeded to pummel him with it, like he deserved.

*

The suns were just beginning to dip in the sky when Garak wandered out to meet the ladies on the beach. Not having had much opportunity to vacation in his life, he had studied the appropriate attire meticulously, and settled on a soft purple Hawaiian shirt with watermelons and pineapples printed all over it, grey shorts, and flip-flops. He also sported a wide, floppy-brimmed sunhat tied with a matching purple bow, and black cat-eye sunglasses. Once he arrived at the beachside though, he was at a loss. There certainly were a lot of people around, and the more he looked at the chaotic scene before him, the more he questioned why he had agreed to come here in the first place.

Jadzia, the life of the party as always, was seated at the bar with Keiko and was already chatting to a number of Risian locals - they seemed quite familiar, actually. Perhaps people Dax had known previously? Above their heads hung a hazy, purple-tinged cloud of smoke that Garak definitely wanted in on at some point during the evening. 

As Garak had suspected, Irena and Bond had become fast friends once they discovered the karaoke machine. He had no idea what song they were belting out at the moment, but he recognised the tune from some of Bashir’s bizarre spy programs. Something about the sky falling. Whatever it was, they were certainly in their element - Irena’s voice, he knew, was something beautiful to behold but he’d had no idea that Bond could hold her own on the microphone too. 

Kira and Ahna, on the other hand, had decided on more of a sedate night. They were seated at a table with a young woman - another one of the locals, perhaps. She was significantly shorter than the two Bajorans, with soft, curly hair, and was extremely animated as she talked. She seemed to be explaining something to those two, although what it might have been he couldn't say.

He gave a start as Irena sidled up to him and handed him a drink by way of greeting.

“What’s this?” he asked, taking a sip. It tasted sweet and fruity.

“No idea. It’s orange,” said Irena, linking her arm through his and leading him over to where everybody was crowded around the outdoor bar. 

“How are you finding Risa so far?” she said, keeping their pace to a meander.

“It’s warm,” said Garak, “for which I am immensely grateful. Surely the Betazoid half of you can figure out the rest?”

Irena laughed at him - it was a beautiful sound, her unfettered joy. Oddly, it made him feel less inclined to join the revellers.

“It's better to hear it from you - I'm not a mind reader, silly. So how is it? Even a tailor needs his time to relax, feel the calm, you know? Chill for a bit.”

Garak raised an eyebrow at her.

“You’ve dated Cardassians before. What about our people would you say constitutes “chill,” hmm?”

“Oh stop it, we’ll make a lounge lizard of you yet,” said Irena, patting his arm fondly, “besides, you deserve it.”

 _I’m flattered you think so_ , he thought bitterly, and then pushed it away, hoping Irena hadn't picked up on it. They had been kind enough to bring him along, he was going to make an effort.

For now though, perhaps the first step would be to enjoy the sunlight. Even as evening began its slow roll across the sky, the air was warm, and the golden light from the setting suns pleasant and soothing. He turned his face into it and breathed deeply, his eyes fluttering shut. If nothing else, the heat of this place was total bliss.

“If you don’t mind, Irena, I think I’d rather like to sit a while before I join you,” said Garak.

“Whatever makes you happy! Make sure you spend _some_ time with us though,” said Irena, making her best attempt at a stern expression.

“I promise,” said Garak, and the two of them clinked their glasses together, sealing the deal.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which everybody goes to sleep, to varying degrees of success.

“So what is it you guys like to do?”

The Risian local Ahna and Kira had met tonight - a young woman by the name of Tal - leaned in, excited at the prospect of showing some off-worlders around.

“Umm… well,” said Kira, hoping some words might come. They didn’t, and she looked over at Ahna in a slight panic.

“We like…” began Ahna, and then stopped. What exactly had they been planning on doing here?

“I’ll give you some ideas if you like! I mean there’s obviously lots of parties you can go to, but I get the feeling that’s probably not what you guys are looking for.”

“You mean there’s other stuff we can do?” said Kira, suddenly perking up.

“Not that we don’t want to - you know. All of this,” said Ahna, gesturing vaguely at their friends, “but if there’s more? We’d be very keen.”

“Oh yeah! There’s heaps of stuff on Risa! Everyone thinks people only come here to get their Jamaharon - I mean fine if you’re into that, but there’s heaps more to do!”

Her excitement was infectious, and Kira and Ahna found themselves delighted at the possibilities.

“Are you guys into sports? We have a rock climbing wall here where the faces change around while you climb, which is pretty cool!”

“Ahh, not for me,” said Ahna, “I prefer to know where I’m going. What else is there?”

“Well, there’s the usual spa stuff, if you want a place to just relax. There’s a bunch of hot springs, and the steam baths are pretty fun! It’s all very tranquil.”

“I do kind of like the sound of that,” said Kira, “and is there anything interesting to just… look at? Gardens or something?” 

“Yes!” said Tal, clapping her hands together, “I almost forgot - we have these subterranean gardens, they’re really cool! If you go there after dark, the plants are all luminescent, I think it’s something in the soil down there, but it’s crazy! I can take you guys at some point if you like, it’s one of my favourite spots but nobody seems to want to go there.”

“What?” exclaimed Ahna, “but that sounds so cool! Let’s go!”

“That sounds like a great plan - how’s tomorrow night sound?” said Kira, “can we meet you here?”

“Sure thing, I’ll be around!” said Tal, tapping her finger to her temple in a casual salute.

“What’s wrong with tonight?” said Ahna, a little confused.

“Ah, it looks like Jadzia is starting an arm wrestling competition, and I feel like I need to be over there,” said Kira

“What, to make sure she doesn’t start any trouble, or to join in?” 

Kira gave Ahna a tiny smirk, “probably both.”

*

The pool had seemed like the most logical place to find Garak. It faced the setting suns, and the entire pool deck was bathed in golden sunlight - not to mention the deckchairs that made for good lounging. For someone who was essentially a humanoid lizard, Susan and Savannah had been almost certain they would find him here. As it turned out, they had been mistaken - there were definitely a number of different species out and about, but no Cardassians, and certainly no Garak.

“You sure we just can’t see him? It’s a pretty big area,” muttered Savannah.

“He’s with Jadzia - even if we couldn’t see them, we’d hear them,” Susan replied.

The thought hit them both at once - if they were going to find the group, they should have been looking for where Jadzia would be, not Garak! 

“God, we’re stupid,” said Savannah, to nobody in particular.

“Hey! Did I hear somebody be mean to themselves? We can’t have that!” said Julian, wandering up behind them and putting one hand on each of their shoulders. He had changed into a sundress - one with a shirred red top with black spots on it that faded and fanned out into waves of green at the edges of the hem, which flowed breezily around his knees.

“Nice watermelon dress,” said Susan.

“Thanks!” said Julian excitedly, “I’ve had this forever, didn’t have anywhere to wear it!”

He twirled once, and the dress fluttered out around him. It was indeed very pretty. 

“Where’s Rob, by the way?” asked Susan, “weren’t they with you?”

“Oh, they’re tired. They said getting somewhere quiet to sleep it off is going to do them more good than trying to go out tonight, so I’ve left them in their room,” said Julian, although the way his eyes strayed back to the visitors’ quarters suggested that he was still a little concerned.

“Well, let’s make sure we bring them back something to eat, at least,” said Savannah, “I’m starving. Hey, we should go and uh... look for somewhere nice to have some dinner!”

Julian raised an eyebrow at that, “but isn’t that why you suggested we go down to the pool deck? You said you could get pizza toppings at the kiosk here from “twenty different off-world locations” or something.”

“O-oh yeah!” said Savannah, “there’s even gagh pizza, if you were game enough to try that,”

“I won’t rule it out, but let’s see what else they’ve got!” said Julian with a grin. He placed a hand on each of his friends’ shoulders and steered them towards the little eating area down the end of the pool deck.

“We should go somewhere else for dessert though!” said Susan quickly, “we should look around!”

“Oh, okay… Whatever you like!” said Julian, squeezing her shoulder. They had almost made it to the kiosk, when Julian spied something interesting.

“Excuse me!” he said excitedly, stopping by a table where a solitary Edosian man was sitting, “hi! My name’s Julian Bashir, I’m a Starfleet doctor - am I disturbing you? If you’d rather be left alone I won’t take any offence to it but I’ve never met an Edosian before, and I was wondering if I might-”

“Starfleet?” the Edosian perked up, “How did you get here?”

“What do you mean?” said Julian, taking the opportunity to pull up a chair.

“I mean which ship did you arrive on? The Yellowstone? The Aries? The uh… the Enterprise?” he leaned towards Julian, a spark in his eyes that was somehow quite familiar.

“Oh! We hitched a ride on the Cochrane to get here.”

The Edosian smacked a three-fingered hand down on the table in delight, “the Cochrane! How very excellent!”

“Hey, uh” said Julian, addressing Savannah and Susan, his eyes wide and imploring as he struggled to contain his excitement, “if you want to grab something first - I just want to… uh, I’ll be with you in a sec?”

For a second, Susan wanted to be annoyed with him. There was no way he would be with them in a sec, or even several “secs,” but... Damned if he didn’t seem genuinely happy.

“Sure!” she said brightly, “come join us when we’re done!”

It was good that Julian was facing away with them when they left, because Savannah and Susan did have to take several long moments to flail and silently scream in frustration.

“Okay. If you were Jadzia, where would you go? Where are the main party hotspots on Risa?” whispered Susan

“You see, that’s the thing - I don’t think Jadzia goes looking for a party. I think the party tends to find her,” Savannah replied, wringing her hands. 

“Well, change of plan then. Surely they’re not just going to go on a weekend long bender-”

“You wanna bet?” said Savannah, “it wouldn’t be the first time,”

“Yeah, but Kira and Ahna are there, and Jadzia is lots of things but she isn’t an asshole. My bet is that they’re going to split off tomorrow and do their own thing, then meet up again at night. It makes sense, right? Kira and Ahna will probably go meditate somewhere, Keiko’s going to check out the local plant life, Jadzia and the other girls will probably go for a swim… where’s Garak going to go? My bet is that he’ll be at the hot springs. Or the heated pool. You know, somewhere he can finally get warm.”

A thought occurred to Savannah.

“Can Garak even swim?”

Susan stared at her, “I uh… that's a good question actually. Do they swim on Cardassia? Come to think of it, what if he’s actually really into pilates or something? Oh god, what if he’s been here the whole time and he’s been taking a pottery class?”

“Susan,” said Savannah, the reality of the situation starting to sink in, “he could be  _ anywhere _ .”

*

In fact, Garak was at that moment bearing witness to one of the most crushing defeats he had ever seen. A crowd had gathered around the table Jadzia was seated at, hanging on her every move with bated breath. Dotted around the crowd were people who looked dejected. Crestfallen. Utterly humiliated, wearing sour looks and massaging sore wrists.

Jadzia, the focal point of the night, was illuminated by the lights of the hundreds of torches that surrounded them. They bathed her in a fiery orange glow, tongues of flame reflected in her eyes. She had been wearing an embroidered, satiny robe but now that was off, her white tank top showing off her impressive arm muscles as she strained against her latest opponent. He was a Bolian with a look of determination so intense it threatened to split his face in two.

“Smash ‘em!” shouted Bond, raising her drink and sloshing it everywhere. Everyone was extremely invested in the outcome, given that Jadzia had also bet the barkeep exclusive use of the facility the following night if she could manage to arm-wrestle ten people tonight and win. The Bolian in question was, in fact, number ten.

“Come on Jadzia!” said Irena, her hands clasped tightly together in anticipation

Kira was drumming her hands on the table, a very serious expression on her face.

“You can do this Dax, you know you can!” she said.

Jadzia’s eyes screwed shut with the effort, her face flushed bright red as sweat stood out on her brow. For a moment, her arm faltered and the Bolian’s eyes lit up with glee. But then, with a huge battle cry worthy of a Klingon, she smacked the back of his hand firmly into the tabletop.

The place erupted in a wall of sound, making even Garak’s ears ring with the sheer volume of screaming that occurred. Jadzia climbed up on the table, punching the air in victory. At some point, she was lifted onto someone’s shoulders and carried around the courtyard where they were sat. As the crowd moved on, Irena made her way over to his side once again, and he realised he was grinning. In his chest he could feel laughter, and it filled him up with delight. 

“Glad to see you’re enjoying yourself,” said Irena, taking his arm, “you deserve to have fun sometimes too!”

Oh, but the feeling was so fragile, even giving a voice to it had burst the happy bubble that had formed around him, caused the laughter to drain away through the pit of his stomach and be flooded instead with a sick, roiling guilt. Deserve? What did he deserve? The aftertaste of his drink turned sour in his mouth, and it hurt his teeth. If only they could see him now, on some desert paradise watching arm wrestling competitions. Pathetic. 

Irena jerked back as if stung, and she frowned. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but Garak held up a hand.

“Don’t.” he said softly, “don’t say a word. Please.”

“Garak,” she said, reaching for his shoulder.

“ _ Please _ .” 

Irena’s hand froze in mid-air, and she put it down again.

“You’re allowed to be happy, you know,” she said. 

Garak swallowed instead of responding, trying to get rid of the bitter taste in his mouth. He was desperate to believe her.

*

Savannah and Susan’s evening wasn’t entirely a write-off, despite the slight spanner in the works. Julian very quickly realised he was starving, and they ended up sharing some extremely interesting pizza toppings with the Edosian, whose name was Dramex. It turned out Edosian suckerfish was on the menu, which was absolutely delicious. Gagh pizza was about as terrible to everyone but Julian as could be expected. And then there were sweet pizzas for dessert, with moba fruit, golana melon, ktarian chocolate… by the time the three friends wandered back to their room (with a box full of leftover slices in tow), they were full and happy, and Julian Bashir had himself a brand new pen pal to write to.

“Make sure you’re quiet,” whispered Julian as they made their way back to their room, “we wouldn’t want to wake-”

He opened the door, and his expression hardened. He had that look on his face - that stern look he tended to only use when a patient was being particularly difficult. Savannah pushed past him to find Robertson - in bed, but very much still awake. They were holding a PADD, and had a terribly guilty expression on their face.

For a second, it seemed as though Julian was going to tell them off. But instead, all he did was hold out his hand for the PADD, which Robertson placed it into, unwilling to meet his gaze.

“Your hands are shaking,” said Julian, going over to sit beside them on the bed. Robertson leaned back into their pillows and sighed.

“I can’t stop thinking about how much I still have to do,” they said quietly. Julian nodded.

“Do you have anything left to finish that’s time-sensitive?” he asked, “As in, if you don’t do it right now, we’re going to have a major diplomatic upset on our hands?” 

Robertson shook their head.

“Okay. Listen to me. Whatever world you’re on isn’t going to stop turning just because you don’t get every single thing in as fast as you can. At worst, somebody out there might be a little annoyed that they have to wait. That’s not worth making yourself sick over, is it?”

Robertson exhaled a shaky breath.

“I guess not,” they said, making an attempt at a smile.

Julian patted their leg, "that's the spirit," he said, returning the smile, "now get some proper rest, and tomorrow we're going to make sure you actually _relax._ "

“We brought you dinner!” said Savannah, pushing the box at them, which they accepted with grateful bewilderment, “I promise no weird stuff, Julian ate all of that himself.”

“I’ll have you know you’re all missing out,” said Julian, sticking his tongue out. He flopped on his bed, making a small noise of contentment as he stretched himself out. Robertson took a slice of cold chocolate pizza out and nibbled at it.

“Well, I’m turning in,” said Savannah with a yawn. Looking at Julian sprawled across the bed, she was glad she’d packed her softest pyjama top and pants. 

“Sounds like a good idea,” said Susan, grabbing out a PADD from her own bag, “I’m gonna read a bit first though.”

“Okay! Well just as long as you remember we’ve got lots to do tomorrow!” said Savannah, trying to catch Susan’s eye. They still needed to find Garak.

“What do you mean?” asked Julian, who was now half-hanging off the bed, rummaging through his bags for something. He pulled out his neatly folded (and pressed? Did he iron them?) blue striped pyjamas, and lay them on the bed in front of him.

“Do you guys have plans I don’t know about?” he asked curiously, “because I just thought we were going to, I dunno, just hang out!”

“Oh! Um,” said Savannah, “yeah we are! It’s just that…”

“I’ve never been to Risa before!” said Susan quickly, “and I wanted to make sure I could uh… take everything in! There’s lots to see, I’ve heard.”

“That’ll be great! I can show you around tomorrow if you like, I’ve been here plenty of times!” said Julian, seemingly excited at the prospect. 

Susan plastered on her best smile.

“That sounds wonderful,” she said, as if she and Savannah weren’t both screaming internally. 

*

It was much later (or rather, earlier in the morning) when Jadzia and her friends finally made it back to their suite. By that time, everybody was ready to flop into bed, and most of their chatter had died down. Ahna and Kira shared a laugh at the fact that they had both chosen the exact same Bajoran-style nightdress from the replicator, and Jadzia cooed drunkenly over Keiko’s slightly too large, pink, cat-print pyjamas. Bond, as it turned out, just slept in slightly softer normal clothes, which cut an interesting contrast to Irena, who had her hair up in a silk scarf, somehow looking more like she was ready for a vintage pyjama photoshoot than actual bedtime. 

“I normally sleep naked, so be grateful I’m making an effort!” declared Jadzia, who had changed into shorts and a tshirt.

“Thank you, kind benefactor,” yawned Keiko.

Ahna and Kira got into opposite sides of the bed, respectfully keeping as much distance between them as possible. Ahna couldn’t help but glance over at Garak on the other side of the room. Despite her nerves, a part of her did want to get to know him a little better. He had been nothing but gracious and kind so far on their trip, keeping his distance, avoiding doing or saying anything that might have read as confrontational. As he prepared for bed, he was wearing a knee-length rust coloured tunic made of something that looked incredibly soft and light, printed in one of the geometric patterns that Cardassians seemed to favour. It fell elegantly over his shoulders, with a square, high cut collar that mostly covered his neck ridges. For a second, Garak’s eyes flickered over to where Ahna lay, and their eyes met. He looked away immediately, and made a big, rather over-dramatic show of stretching, wriggling into bed, and then laying down. The strangeness of the action gave Ahna a flutter of nervousness; she took a deep breath, trying to will away the anxiety churning away in her stomach, willing herself to believe that she was in no danger. She closed her eyes, focused on her breathing, and counted to ten. When she opened her eyes again, she realised one thing - Garak had lay down with his back turned to her. He was leaving himself open without the ability to check on what the rest of the room was doing. It was the most vulnerable position he could have put himself in, and the realisation dissolved Ahna's fears completely, leaving her with a pleasant warmth.

*

“Hmmm… Doctor Honey Bare, I had some questions for you,”

Savannah was staring at the ceiling, not quite believing what she was hearing. Julian had been mumbling on and off in his sleep for about an hour now, and she was still wide awake. 

“Can’t you do something?” whispered Robertson from across the room.

“Mmmyeah, ‘d love to go to Atrea IV… fascinated by the solidification of their molten core… but you’d know all about that,” Julian continued.

“What do I do?” Savannah whispered back, slightly horrified.

“Cuddle him” said Robertson

“Cover his mouth with your pillow,” grumbled Susan, at the same time.

“No, don’t,” gasped Julian, his dream seemingly having taken a sudden turn for the worse. He shifted in his sleep, curling up against some unseen foe.

“Please, I promise I’ll be good-” his voice had gone up in pitch, fear at the edge of his words. That did it for Savannah; she reached out and lay a tentative hand on his arm. He stilled almost immediately, relaxing and uncurling slightly. 

“What did you do?” whispered Susan.

“I’m just touching him,” answered Savannah, her heart hammering so fast she hoped Julian couldn’t hear it. 

“Well do it more! It’s helping!” said Susan, slightly too loudly. Julian stirred.

“Wasshappening?” he said, the words coming out in a garbled mess. Savannah made a decision.

“I’m going to hug you so you can sleep better,” she said.

“Nice,” the word came out of Julian like an exhale and his breathing slowed again, evening out into sleep once more. Savannah shifted a little closer to him, slipping one arm around his slim waist and marvelling at how thin and fragile he felt like this. It was a long way from the towering ball of energy she was used to hanging out with in the infirmary. An odd sense of protectiveness washed over her as she felt herself start to drift off with him.

*

“You awake?” came the whisper from Kira.

She and Ahna were lying stock still on their backs, hands by their sides on opposite sides of the bed, staring at the ceiling. Around them, the deep breaths and soft exhales of their friends suggested that they were the only ones still up.

“Yep,” sighed Ahna.

Neither of them had been particularly good sleepers in the first place, and now that they were in a new place, somewhere unfamiliar in the dark, they couldn’t relax. The smallest noise made them tense up, the slightest shift in the dark held unspeakable, unnamable fears. Not to mention the fear of what either of them might do or say were they to fall into a nightmare. It didn’t bear thinking about.

“Well, it figures,” said Kira, “at least it’s just a weekend, not like either of us haven’t gone for a couple of days with no sleep before, hey?”

“Yeah,” agreed Ahna, a sinking feeling settling in her chest. Despite her reservations about Jadzia’s idea of a “good time,” she had in fact been really looking forward to spending a weekend to savour the opportunity to unwind and relax. Doing so while powering through sleep deprivation, plus having to pretend everything was okay to everyone else, sounded decidedly less appealing.

A light turned on down the other end of the room, and Kira and Ahna sat up immediately, looking around for its source. It was Garak, who was also sitting up in bed, though his head was turned to the side, not looking at them directly. Ahna felt her heart begin to race.

“I feel like I could potentially be of assistance, since it seems that none of us are quite able to sleep in these… conditions,” he said, keeping his voice soft and low. 

“It’s fine Garak, go back to sleep,” said Kira, defensiveness making the words come out a little harsher than she perhaps intended.

“That’s just what I mean though,” he said, “none of us will be sleeping tonight if we keep to our current situation, but perhaps if one of us were to… keep watch, in a sense? That might go some way to helping.”

“Good idea,” said Kira, “I’ll take first watch. We can rotate.”

Garak chuckled, though the sound was not unkind.

“Major, you’re not under attack. As a Cardassian, I can easily get my rest tomorrow in the sun, as nature intended. Yourself and the lieutenant are another matter.”

“So what are you proposing?” whispered Ahna.

“With your permission, I will move a chair to the centre of the room. I will keep my light on. I will face in whichever direction you feel comfortable to have me face. I will spend the night catching up on some design work, and you will sleep, knowing that I will wake you should we have any trouble. In the waking, or the sleeping world.”

He made no move to continue or push, allowing the offer to sink in.

“That’s very kind of you Garak,” said Kira slowly, “but I think-”

“We couldn’t possibly ask that of you,” continued Ahna. She was surprised to realise that she didn't feel entirely opposed to the idea, except in principle - she couldn’t make him stay awake all night for their benefit.

“I won’t move without your permission, but the offer stands,” said Garak quietly. He made sure to lie down once more, his back facing them, before turning his light out again.

Ahna and Kira lay back down, shifting uncomfortably where they landed. Kira rolled tentatively onto her side, facing away from Ahna, and they both tried to close their eyes. Again, that anxiety crawled back into the room, the electric nervousness that tingled through their extremities and made them sweat, despite the relative coolness of the room. Their increasing exhaustion, coupled with the incessant, relentless whirring of the thoughts in their heads meant that when a bird call sounded outside the window, the two of them jerked to attention, peering around in the darkness for the threat, breathing hard. They couldn’t do this.

“Garak,” said Ahna, speaking the name into existence so softly it was nearly swallowed up by the darkness. For a moment they thought perhaps he hadn’t heard, but then his light turned on.

“At your service,” came the gentle reply, devoid of any teasing. Ahna realised that here in the dark, they had met a very different Garak to the one they knew in the daylight. 

“May I?” he continued, allowing the question to hang between them.

“Yes. Please.” said Ahna. 

Very slowly, Garak got up, carrying his light with him as he moved. He brought a chair down from the lounge area and set it up in the middle of the room, close enough that they could see his face, but still keeping some distance between them. He angled it towards the door, so that he wasn’t facing them front-on. He settled comfortably, and brought out his PADD.

“Is this okay?” he said.

“Yes. Thank you,” said Ahna. Even just the presence of the small light was a comfort, chasing the worst of the shadows away from the room. Beside her, Kira sighed.

“Thank you, Garak.” echoed Kira.

“Sleep now, Major. Lieutenant.” said Garak, already scrolling through his work. He produced a stylus, and began to sketch.

Ahna and Kira lay back down, and realised that they had done so facing each other. Kira, the outlines of her face just barely illuminated in the edges of Garak’s light, smiled.

“Goodnight, Lili,” she said softly.

“Goodnight, Nerys,” Ahna replied.

Sleep didn’t come immediately. But somehow between the three of them they felt safer now, and slowly, in stages, they dropped off from consciousness into rest. Eventually, confident that he was finally alone in his wakefulness, Garak permitted himself a moment to look up from his work, and smile.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which everything starts to go very, very wrong.

Being woken up by morning sunlight streaming through the windows was a novelty for everybody after spending such a long time in deep space. Bit by bit, the room began to stir - people used to being woken up by alarms suddenly able to luxuriate in the bliss of waking up in stages, stretching and sighing and not needing to be anywhere particularly fast. Garak quietly put his chair back and went and sat on his bed. Although there had been the occasional murmur of distress or sharp intake of breath, the two Bajorans had indeed managed to mostly stay asleep. The satisfaction from that went some way to easing the hard knot of pain that had lodged itself in his neck from trying not to make too much noise during the night. 

“Do you think the replicators are programmed with Raktajinos?” said Jadzia, slowly getting into a sitting position. Her hair was mussed and framed the sleepy, blissful smile on her face in a tangle of wild strands.

“If they’re not, I’m going to start a riot myself,” murmured Bond, not moving from where she lay curled on her side. 

“Well, I guess I’ll go and find out,” said Irena. Her hair was already out and fluffed into the same perfectly coiffed mass of curls from yesterday, and she was wearing a flowery print 1940s beach suit with a short, elbow length silk robe over the top. Her makeup was perfect.

“How… how did you do that?” said Jadzia, scratching at her rumpled tshirt as she swung her legs out of bed.

“How did I do what?” said Irena mildly. She wandered up to the lounge room, where a small plate-sized replicator sat.

Ahna found Kira sitting cross-legged on her side of the bed, stretching her arms up above her head.

“Did you sleep okay?” said Kira, looking perhaps more relaxed than Ahna had ever seen her.

“I think I did, yeah,” said Ahna. The two of them looked over at Garak, who was sitting on his own bed now. He looked a little glassy-eyed and weary from his overnight vigil. Part of Ahna wanted to thank him, but she knew it wouldn’t be appreciated.

“Good news everybody!” said Irena, reappearing with a steaming hot mug in each hand. She went over to Garak and handed him one, keeping the other one for herself. A strange look passed between the two of them, Irena looking like she wanted to say something, but catching herself in the process. Despite the relative warmth of Risa, Garak wrapped his hands around the mug.

“Anybody up for a bit of beach volleyball this morning?” said Jadzia.

“I’m game for anything,” said Bond.

Volleyball sounded like fun. Ahna and Kira volunteered themselves too, and so did Keiko. Irena balked at the suggestion, and Garak simply gave Jadzia a tired stare when she offered him the opportunity to play, but undoubtedly there would be more than enough willing Risians to make up the rest of the team.

“Coffee! Juice! Breakfast!” said Jadzia, proceeding to replicate herself a huge plate of various fried vegetables.

“Is that your hangover cure then?” said Keiko, looking at the meal with interest.

“Hangover?” said Jadzia, slightly confused, “why would I be hungover?”

“...Because you were drunk?” 

Jadzia laughed at her, “oh Keiko, I wasn’t drunk. You haven’t seen me drunk.”

*

Despite the worry about Garak’s current whereabouts, Savannah was currently in an extremely good mood. She was currently sat in the big hall where a communal breakfast buffet was set up, waiting for Susan and Julian to come down. Still in her pyjamas and slightly sleepy, she was nursing a cup of tea with several wedges of lemon stuffed into it and buzzing with the warmth of having woken up with her nose pressed into Julian’s shoulder blade. She had felt him wake up, felt the slight change in his breaths as he emerged into consciousness, felt his chest expand as he drew in a deep breath and exhaled contentedly, happy to simply lie there for a little longer. They hadn’t spoken, but Savannah had shifted into a slightly more comfortable position, and Julian had covered the hand she had around his waist with his own. She allowed herself to hold that pleasant feeling in her mind.

Robertson came back with a huge soup mug with two teabags in it. They were slightly loopy from having slept through an entire night for once, and amazingly seemed to be the most awake out of the four of them this morning. They’d even managed to be already dressed, and were wearing one of Garak’s Hawaiian shirts - this one a pale blue with surfing lizards printed all over it.

“Hey Rob, quick question,” said Savannah, “you weren’t even planning on coming until the last minute. Why do you have one of those shirts?”

Robertson shrugged, “Garak wanted someone with texture sensitivities to try the design out for him, and he made me keep it afterwards as some sort of walking advertisement. I guess it worked, I hear they’re pretty popular.”

“That’s weird,” said Savannah, “why someone with texture sensitivities?”

Robertson took a sip of their drink, looking thoughtful.

“You know, I was wondering about that too. Surely he could have just asked Julian to do it? I guess maybe he didn’t have a day spare where he could just wander around the infirmary in a loud shirt. The kids all love it, though.”

“Mmmmmmaybe,” said Savannah.

Robertson stared at Savannah for a moment, and then their eyes narrowed, “is there something you guys aren’t telling me?”

Savannah quickly checked that Julian hadn’t just walked in, and then leaned in closer.

“Yes, but you have to be quiet about it or everything’s ruined. If it isn’t already.”

“Okay, now you  _ have _ to explain.”

Where to start? “Oh god, um. You know how things have been weird between Julian and Garak lately?” she said.

“Oh, yeah. The poor things, I wish they could just have a moment to sit and sort themselves out.” 

Robertson paused.

“Garak’s here, isn’t he? You’re trying to set them up.”

“Look, I didn’t say it was the best plan ever but yes, there’s a group of people from the station here with Jadzia, and they’re all… well, actually that’s the problem because we  _ don’t know where they are _ -”

“Don’t know where who are?” said Julian, pulling up a chair. Savannah and Robertson both simultaneously defaulted to “act natural” mode, which meant yet again taking a large drink from their much too hot drinks, burning their mouths, and choking.

“Geez, and I thought I was bad at mornings,” said Susan. She breezed past all of them to go and inspect what was on offer for breakfast.

“We, ah-” Savannah coughed, “don’t know where anything is, actually! Susan and I were talking about maybe going and just doing a bit of a walking tour of the local areas, see some of the sights… stuff like that.” 

“Oh that sounds lovely! I can point some places out to you if you like, we’ll make an outing of it!” said Julian. His eyes were alight with excitement, but then his stomach growled.

“Perhaps after breakfast, though. There’s quite a selection here, isn’t there?” 

He got up, and was replaced with Susan and a large mug of coffee.

“How’d you sleep, Susan?” asked Robertson brightly. Susan glared at them and took a sip of her coffee.

“Oh, whoops. I’ll wait until you’re done,” said Robertson, returning their attention to Savannah.

“So what exactly is the plan? We wander around Risa with Julian for a while, find Garak and… run off and leave them together?”

“Look, I’ll be the first to admit we haven’t exactly thought this through properly, but...” said Savannah, and then trailed off, looking to Susan for help. Susan shrugged in reply, continuing to make her way through the coffee. Robertson looked at them both expectantly.

“You don’t have a plan, do you?” they said. Savannah and Susan both shook their heads. 

“Well look,” they continued, “I think the best thing is for us to let them sort it out for themselves, so our priority is to just make sure they actually run into each other at some point. You said he was with Jadzia right?”

“Right,” said Susan, “but I get the feeling with the group they’ve got, they’ll probably split up today and then meet up later - they’re not all exactly recreation-compatible.”

“Ah yes,” said Robertson, “because all four of us absolutely love taking long walks in the heat and sunshine. Which is, by the way, what we’re doing today.”

Susan closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“Which one of you idiots came up with that idea?” 

“W-well how else are we going to find Garak?” said Savannah, looking slightly terrified.

“Speaking of finding people,” said Robertson, “... where did Julian go?”

All three of them turned around to look. There weren’t too many people around, and the room was shaped like a long rectangle, so there were no hidden nooks. Julian was now officially also missing.

*

After a couple of warm up games, it had been decided that they had to set up the volleyball teams a little differently to how they had envisioned. Jadzia and Bond were now no longer allowed to be on the same team - two people who screamed like Klingons and sent the ball hurtling worryingly accurately towards peoples’ faces was simply too many. Instead, Jadzia headed the team of herself, Kira and Ahna, and Bond had Keiko and a Risian man that Jadzia had picked at random, who seemed confused about the rules of the game but very enthusiastic. Not that it mattered - the current house rules included the stipulation that anyone who sent the ball flying out of the court had to run down to the ocean, jump in, and then roll in sand like they were breading themselves for a deep fryer. Needless to say, everybody was currently very sandy.

Garak and Irena wandered over a little later, having taken some time to “get ready” and “freshen up,” which, as they arrived appeared to mean “get dressed in matching outfits.” Garak was currently wearing some  _ very _ short flower-print shorts, and a similar red robe to Irena’s. They both sported large, floppy-brimmed sunhats and cat-eye sunglasses.

“Heads!” shouted Keiko, sending the ball flying wide of the court. Garak casually stepped to the side, and the ball whizzed past his face. He seemed unmoved by the near miss.

“Who’s winning?” called Irena, as the two of them lay some towels down close, but not too close to where they were.

“We are!” shouted both teams at once.

“We haven’t been keeping score,” laughed Keiko as she ran for the ball.

Garak allowed the sounds of their shouting to wash over him as he lay back on his towel, stretching out lazily in the sun. Napping in the warmth of the sun had been an unspeakable luxury even on Cardassia, but this at least he could give himself, after having endured so many freezing nights on Deep Space Nine.

“That’s the spirit,” said Irena, just loud enough that Garak could hear her. Already dropping off from fatigue, he tried to get off some sort of witty retort, but all that came out was a half-hearted mumble that ended in a snore.

*

It was hot. It was hot, and they were in the sun. It was hot, they were in direct sunlight, and they were walking fast enough for it to count as exercise, which was really the perfect combination for Susan to be in a terrible mood.

“Well we already know they’re not doing water aerobics,” said Savannah, ticking off the options on one hand as they walked. It had been at least an hour now, and there was no sign of Julian, Garak, or any of the others. 

“Why were there so many people in that class?” grumbled Susan, “I thought pools were for relaxing, not for… whatever the hell that was.”

“Some people are into that, I guess. I could have sworn that mechanical targ rodeo would have been the perfect spot for Jadzia-”

“Yeah, but it’s still the middle of the morning! She’s probably starting her day bench pressing the wait staff or something,” said Susan

“Do you think they might be hungover?” said Savannah, rounding a corner into a little walled-up garden. There was a small arch overhung with delicate purple flowers that made soft tinkling sounds in the breeze. The two of them really would have found it quite charming, were they not so stressed. Because of this, they also failed to notice that above the flowers hung a plaque with an engraving of a horga’hn on it.

Susan scoffed, “you don’t know Jadzia. There’s no way she would have been wasted enough with the rest of those guys around to warrant a hangover.”

“Maybe Keiko’s in here?” said Savannah, peering into the gardens. It looked to be a lush hedge maze, resplendent with colourful, bushy flowers and fuzzy little buzzing insects.

“Looks like her kind of place. Worth a look, I reckon,” said Susan, wandering in. 

The gardens were quiet. Peaceful - exactly the sort of place Keiko would love to visit. That was, until-

“Oh, this is unusual! I like this!” shouted a gravelly voice from somewhere close within the gardens. The owner of the voice let out a loud screech like an extremely enthusiastic air raid siren

“Jama my harons, my love!” said another, breathier voice. The leaves on the tall bushes in front of them began to rustle wildly.

“Let’s align those root chakras!”

“I don’t think they’re here,” squeaked Savannah

Susan didn’t reply, she just grabbed Savannah by the sleeve and ran for it.

*

“Gosh, he’s just like a big kitty,” said Bond.

“Keep your voice down,” whispered Keiko.

The volleyball game was over, and the ladies of Deep Space Nine were all currently crouched around Garak, halfway between trying to decide where to go next, and marvelling at this rare glimpse of their Cardassian friend stretched out in the sand like a lazy cat. There was something mesmerising about seeing him so relaxed. He was currently lying on his back with his head resting in Irena’s lap, his robe lying open and exposing his scaled belly to the sun. 

“Guys, he can probably hear you, you know,” said Irena.

“Don’t ruin it, I wanted to see how far they’d go,” mumbled Garak from under the brim of his sun hat. He made no indication that he was going to get up.

“Well, I don’t know about you guys but I’m going to take a shower, and then I’m feeling lunch,” said Jadzia, her hands on her hips. It seemed like the logical step to take, and the rest of the group voiced their assent, gathering up their belongings.

“You gonna get up, Garak?” said Irena, patting his arm to make sure he knew she was going to leave with them. Garak made a small noise of disgruntlement.

“I’m going to need a bit more information than that,” she laughed.

“Go on without me,” he said waving one hand vaguely in the air, “I can manage on my own for a while, just let me know where you’re going for lunch and I’ll meet you there.”

“I know just the place!” said Jadzia. She reached into the small bag she had brought with her and took out a lipstick. She then proceeded to write an address in red on Garak’s exposed belly.

“Hm. Tickles,” said Garak, though he made no move to stop her. By the time she was done, he had fallen back asleep.

*

Robertson was sitting on a chair outside the main restaurant near the guest house, having sneakily retrieved their PADD from under Julian’s pillow - strictly to do some light reading, since Julian would let them have it if he found them trying to work. It wasn’t a bad way to pass the time - the restaurant faced one of the back beaches, and the salty air and gentle lapping of the waves was extremely soothing. Since Susan and Savannah were out looking for Garak, they were on Julian duty. And if there was any guarantee of where Julian was going to be, it was where the food was. It took about an hour of waiting, but eventually the PADD was swiped out of their hands.

“There you are! I should have known you’d sneak off somewhere,” said Julian, sounding only a little breathless. Clearly he’d been off looking for them too.

“Actually, you were the one doing the sneaking!” said Robertson, sitting up and rubbing their eyes. Julian sighed and sat down next to them.

“Look at you, you were supposed to be having fun here,” he said, his voice growing soft with concern, “not… oh, you were reading The Hobbit. Never mind, carry on.” 

Robertson laughed in response, patting his knee.

“It’s fine, I was just waiting around to see if you’d show up. We turned around and you were gone!”

Julian smacked his hand to his forehead.

“I got sidetracked! Dramex - this Edosian man I met last night - wanted to show me some photos of his ship models, and I couldn’t get away! Then when I got back, I thought you’d probably gotten sick of waiting for me, so I assumed you’d gone… somewhere.”

“Seems to be the flavour of the day, really,” muttered Robertson, mostly to themself. Julian tilted his head, inviting them to continue.

“Well,” they said, “Susan and Savannah went out for their walk anyway hoping they’d run into you, so do you just want to wait around for a bit until they get back? I could read to you for a bit if you like.”

Julian settled with his hands laced across his chest, stretching out his long legs in front of him.

“That sounds delightful! You can start from wherever you were, I’ve read it before.”

“Alright,” said Robertson, and began to read.

“ _ It was just at this moment that Bilbo suddenly discovered the weak point in his plan. Most likely, you saw it some time ago and have been laughing at him; but I don’t suppose you would have done half as well yourselve _ _ s in his place _ _!” _

*

Susan was just about ready to tear her hair out.

“They’re not anywhere in the guest houses. They’re not at the pool. They’re not in the gardens. They’re not in the conference halls, which I didn’t even know they had here - who is out here scheduling scientific conferences on Risa? Are they planning on getting any work done? This is the stupidest place I’ve ever-”

“Susan!” said Savannah, skidding to a halt. The two of them were tired and sweaty after having essentially power-walked the length of Temtibi Lagoon twice over. They had been up and down the beach, but they hadn’t considered the beach volleyball courts, which were tucked in the little area where the coastline curved around. But now from this vantage point, there was a grey figure sprawled out in the sand who looked very much like-

“Garak!” gasped Susan, “that’s him!”

The two of them ran for it, slipping through the dry sand over to where he lay. He was already stirring when they made it over to him. Bleary-eyed and disheveled, he squinted up at the two of them.

“You guys didn’t come here with us,” he said, his voice rough with sleep. 

“Er… no. We’re here with Julian actually, he’s uh - he’s here with us! For a holiday!”

Garak grunted in reply, fumbling for his sunglasses and getting sluggishly to his feet.

“The Funky Flapjack Shack,” said Savannah. Garak leveled her with a stare that was equal parts confusion and half-asleep irritation.

“That’s what it says on your stomach,” she finished, pointing. Garak blinked once, processing this, and gave them a small smile.

“Thank you, my dears. I was wondering how Jadzia expected me to be able to read that. Now if you don’t mind, I’ll be off to catch up with them at this, hm, “Funky Flapjack Shack,” as you call it.”

“No, but don’t you want t-to,” stammered Savannah, “I mean uh, Julian will be so excited to see you! Stay here, we’re going to get Julian! Or uh, come with us? I don’t know, um-”

Garak raised one eye ridge at them, “well, I did say that I was going to catch up to the others later, why don’t you just tell him the name of this fine establishment, and we’ll all meet up there together? Surely that would make more sense.”

He knew. There was no way he would look at them with that damn twinkle in his eye if he didn’t know. God, he was just as bad as Julian… and there was nothing Savannah or Susan could say about it. A heavy feeling dropped into Savannah’s stomach like a rock.

“Yeah, I guess… I guess so,” she said.

“Excellent. I shall await your arrival with much anticipation.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd just like to apologise for the cliffhanger here huehuehuehuehue


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there's pancakes and hand holding.

Foiled again. There was no way they would be able to justifiably get Garak and Julian alone together if they were at a pancake restaurant with everybody else. Knowing the others, Jadzia would probably challenge Julian to an eating contest (and lose) and then take the whole group out on whatever wild night time adventures she had in store for them. In theory, this wasn’t exactly a description of a terrible time, but there were bigger fish to fry right now. 

Susan and Savannah made their way back to the restaurant Rob had mentioned, perhaps a little more slowly than they had meant to. 

“It’s over,” groaned Susan, “I’m over it, and we’re done. I just want to eat pancakes and forget about all this.”

“Yeah, look,” said Savannah, “you’re not wrong there. Maybe they’ll bond again over their favourite syrup flavours or something.”

“I guess that’s what we get for meddling,” said Susan, “god, you know, we’re on holiday right? I mean we have a whole ‘nother day tomorrow, we may as well get some semblance of fun out of this whole-”

“Shh!” 

Savannah put out a hand to stop Susan, and quickly steered the two of them behind the nearest tree. Peering out, they saw Julian and Robertson sitting out the front. Robertson was reading off a PADD, and Julian looked so relaxed he was half-sliding out of his chair, his long legs stretched out in front of him. Down the other end of the long patio that formed the outdoor section of the restaurant though, was another familiar figure. Garak.

“How did he get here so fast?” whispered Susan, “did he run? When did he get changed?”

Indeed, Garak was now wearing a forest green knee length tunic, with wide sleeves that hung down to his elbows. It was much plainer than what they were used to seeing him in, with a neckline that was cut wide enough to show his neck ridges. The effect made him look oddly vulnerable. Julian’s eyes widened when he realised who was there, and he had to quickly scramble so that he didn’t fall off his chair completely. Garak regarded the resulting tangle of limbs for a moment, then sat on the other side of Robertson, peeking over at what they were reading. He said something to them, and Robertson laughed. Julian added something to the conversation, but it seemed to be turning awkward very quickly.

“Rob, leave. Leave!” whispered Susan.

“Oh god, why did we leave them behind? They’re terrible at leaving conversations they don’t want to be in,” said Savannah, “they once complimented Ambassador Troi’s dress and couldn’t get away until about two hours later, when she’d managed to get onto the topic of the aesthetic values of different offworld solar farming utilities.”

“He’s getting up. Julian’s leaving! Rob, oh god, say something!” said Susan, smacking herself in the forehead, “I can’t watch this. It’s too painful.”

“No, wait!” said Savannah.

Garak was saying something to Robertson now. They had moved slightly closer to each other, their heads inclined towards each other like what they were saying was very private. At first, Garak looked irritated, and then downright angry. Robertson, to their credit, held their ground. But then Robertson stared down at their feet and said something, a very long something. It seemed to throw Garak off balance. Robertson met his eyes, and then very gently put their hand on his wrist, leaning in to whisper something. Garak looked away, but he covered their hand with his own. They sat there in silence for a moment, Garak’s eyes fluttering closed.

Suddenly, the door to the restaurant flew open and Julian reappeared. Robertson jumped up, arms flapping about as they fumbled for some sort of excuse, and exited speedily.

“They did it,” said Susan, “I can’t believe it.”

Julian had now sat down next to Garak, and oddly had started picking at his food rather than inhaling it. Garak had both of his hands in his lap. 

“I don’t think this part is for us to see,” said Savannah quietly.

“As much as it kills me to say this,” said Susan, “you’re right. Let’s go get some funky flapjacks.”

*

Garak made it all the way back to his room before he made the decision. At first, he decided he would simply hide there until everyone returned. When he got to his room though, the place had seemed too big. Too empty. Every bed held the story of the person who had slept there last night. Jadzia’s sheets were rumpled into a big ball at the foot of her bed. Keiko’s pyjamas were folded neatly and placed on her bedside table. Bond’s sheets had been folded with militaristic precision, but she had somehow managed to cover the entire floor beside the bed with clothing. His own bed he had made carefully, tucking his bag underneath, keeping everything neat and tidy so as not to impede on anybody else’s space. Nobody would have known he’d even been here.

Was that what he wanted? To dissolve into the background, to become a footnote in Julian Bashir’s life? Perhaps. It was what he deserved. But he didn’t want to fade away, or become the frayed end of a story that had simply fizzled out. The thought of the Doctor slipping further and further away from him until there was nothing left was agonising. It was torture. And his meddling friends wouldn’t stop sticking their noses in his business until he put an end to it. No, the Doctor deserved an explanation, at least - he deserved closure, an ending to the story. He would intervene before his friends got a hold of him. Luckily he was fast.

*

Julian was surprised to see him, by the looks of the way he almost fell off his chair. That meant that Susan and Savannah hadn’t been back yet. Good. He took a seat on the other side of Robertson.

“I didn’t realise we were on holiday at the same time, what a delightful coincidence!” he said, leaning over to read over Robertson’s shoulder in a way that he knew would make them a little uncomfortable.

“What are you reading?” he asked.

“Oh, uh, The Hobbit. Fantasy - uh - novel,” stammered Robertson, angling the PADD over so that Garak could have a look.

“Ah yes, fantasy. Such a classically Federation genre.”

Robertson surprised him by laughing at that.

“Ah yes, much too much fun for your Cardassian sensibilities, am I right? You know Garak, you might actually enjoy this if you had a read of it properly, it’s one of my favourites!”

“Garak doesn’t read for enjoyment,” said Julian. It was clearly meant to be teasing, but there was an underlying bitterness to the statement that made it sting.

“What do you read for then? I guess... there’s lots of reasons people read things, no one of them is better than the other,” said Robertson, a little warily. 

“For the glory of Cardassia,” said Garak, completely deadpan. Julian huffed out a laugh.

“I’m starving, I’m going to go grab something to eat. Do you want anything, Rob? Garak?” said Julian, getting up to go inside.

“Nothing for me, thank you” said Garak.

“Yes please, surprise me,” said Robertson. 

With that, Julian was gone.

“Well, that’s a relief. I thought he’d never get out of here,” said Garak, turning to face Robertson. The opportunity was there, so he might as well take it.

“W-what?” said Robertson, a little flustered.

“I was hoping we might get a moment to talk about you and your little… how do I put this delicately… _club_ ,” said Garak. Robertson still didn’t seem to understand what he was talking about.

“I’m terribly sorry Garak, but I don’t - could you please speak more plainly? I don’t get it.”

“No, I don’t imagine you would. Let me make this very clear for you, Professor. We may have had our fair share of _shenanigans_ on the station, but you and your friends are not welcome to use me for entertainment. I don’t appreciate you listening in on us in the replimat, I don’t appreciate you being here, and I certainly don’t appreciate how you’re messing with the two of us right now. And for what? So you can all have a giggle about it afterwards? You and the others can just take your nosey little selves and _fuck off_.”

Robertson forced themself to meet Garak’s eyes for a moment - they had to see. For the second that they looked, they saw not rage or anger, but fear. God, if only Irena were here to confirm it. They looked down at their feet.

“I’m so sorry,” they said, unable to keep the tremble out of their voice, “It was out of line for us to watch you both like that in the replimat. That wasn’t fair to either of you.”

Garak didn’t respond. Robertson was too frightened to look at him so they pressed on, clasping their hands together to stop them from shaking.

“I won’t apologise for helping bring you both here, though.”

That was mostly because they hadn’t been involved, but Garak didn’t need to know that part.

“I know we don’t know each other too well, but I’ve grown awfully fond of seeing you around and talking to you, and I feel the same way about Julian. I’m not good at being able to tell with these things, but I think eventually we might even call each other friends. Anyway I can just… I can see that whatever this is that’s happening is hurting both of you. We can all see it. We just want to help. I’m sorry for not just coming right out and saying it. Although I don’t - I don’t know if that’s even the right way to do it for you. For a Cardassian. I’m sorry.”

There was still no reply. They ventured a look at Garak and saw that he was still and unmoving, a stricken expression on his face. His hand rested on the arm of the chair he had sat down in, and Robertson placed their hand lightly on his wrist. Garak’s eyes stayed staring straight ahead.

“You could say anything to him, you know. You could tell him about what an awful place this is. You could explain the finer points of your embroidery work to him. You could give him an abridged history of Cardassia. It doesn’t matter what the words are, he’ll know what you really mean.”

“Stop it,” said Garak, the words barely making their way past his throat. Robertson leaned in instead, as close as they dared.

“You’re allowed to be happy, Garak,” they whispered. There was nobody around to overhear, but the statement was so delicate it felt like it might shatter were it spoken any louder.

“Whoever told you you weren’t was wrong. He loves you.”

Garak’s eyes slid shut for a moment, and he drew in a breath to respond.

Just at that moment though, the door from the restaurant flew open and Robertson jumped up.

“Gotta go! I’ve just - uh - realised I told… Savannah… the wrong restaurant! I’ll go get her!” They said, already backing away.

“Oh, right - see you in a bit?” said Julian.

Beside him, Garak was staring at them in disbelief. They were terrible at this.

Although, perhaps not. As they made their swift exit, Julian sat down on the chair next to Garak.

“Oh well, are you hungry? This’ll probably be cold by the time they get back,” said Julian. He kept his tone light, but the words themselves were tentative. Nervous.

“That would be wonderful actually, my dear Doctor,” said Garak, accepting the plate, “I find my appetite suddenly returned.”

*  
The Funky Flapjack Shack turned out to be perhaps the coolest place any of them had ever been to. Susan and Savannah had run out the back to intercept Robertson, and the three of them had headed over there immediately, starving after all the excitement of the day.

The place was built around one huge, bioluminescent tree that spread its branches out in an intertwining ceiling of pale blue leaves and tiny, glowing blossoms. Patrons were seated in a circle of booths around the perimeter, and that constituted the most organised thing about the establishment. Seating areas seemed to be a suggestion rather than a rule, and people wandered about with their plates and drinks as much as they sat down to eat, chatting and dancing and occasionally playing odd looking card games. Around the tree trunk was a circular workstation where several Risians cooked - most (but not all of them) at least looked to be employees. They seemed to be competing to see who could perform the most spectacular pancake flips. This naturally entailed a lot of cleaning work - nobody was perfect - but if anything this added to the atmosphere of the place.

“Where do you reckon they’d be?” said Savannah, her eyes big and round as she took in the full effect of the place. Susan listened for a moment. A huge roar sounded from the other side of the restaurant.

“Whatever that was, I can assume Jadzia was involved,” she said.

She was half right - Jadzia was definitely present. However, this time the culprit appeared to be Keiko of all people, who was perched on the serving counter with another woman - someone local, by the looks of it. She was tawny-skinned, with short-cropped black hair and a huge, dimpled smile that she made ample use of. Keiko took a big draw from the pipe she was holding, and then blew out one huge ring of lavender smoke, sending a slightly smaller ring chasing through the middle, and one more through that. She then focused so hard she nearly went cross-eyed, and blew one last, tiny ring that just made it through the quickly dissipating smoke. The rest of the group, including the other woman, erupted in applause while Keiko took an elaborate, seated bow. Several people were poured generous glasses of something amber and syrupy from a jug, and they were about to drink a toast when Jadzia saw them.

“Susan? Susan! Guys, it’s Susan - come over, I can’t believe you’re here!”

Jadzia pushed her way over to them, picking up Susan in a huge bear hug. 

“Savannah and Robertson are both here too!” said Susan.

“Aah, hi guys! This is so exciting! Are you guys staying at the lagoon too? We should all hang out tonight!”

Savannah and Robertson were both searching for words to reply, both of them beginning to panic a little in the chaos of the crowd. Savannah suddenly found Jadzia lifting her easily onto the counter, up and away from everybody else. A plate was pressed into her hands, and Jadzia whistled and waved at somebody. By way of answer, a pancake flipped its way through the air and landed on the plate.

“Good shot!” called somebody from the crowd.

“And for our winner!” said the woman with the dimples, rapping her knuckles on the counter. A huge, multicoloured stack of pancakes was brought forth, liberally soaked in honey-coloured syrup and sprinkled with lime green berries. She handed this off to Keiko, who held it aloft, laughing.

“Rob! Come help me eat this!”

Robertson was more than happy to oblige. 

*

Kira and Ahna had actually left a little earlier, remembering their upcoming rendezvous with Tal. As fascinating as the Funky Flapjack Shack had been, it was really not the sort of place they enjoyed spending a lot of time in. Plus, there was a whole subterranean garden for them to enjoy!

Tal was actually already wandering the beach. They were just farewelling a couple of tourists with a smile and a wave. Once their backs were turned though, her smile faded almost immediately.

“Tal?” said Kira, quickening their pace a little so that they could catch up.

“Kira! Ahna! You guys came back!” she said, once again full of delight. She kissed them both on each cheek, a greeting that Ahna decided she quite liked, for this place.

“Of course, why wouldn’t we?” said Kira, “we’re excited to see the gardens!”

Tal beamed, “that’s so good, that’s so wonderful! Okay, let’s go! The sun’s still up, but it’s basically inside a cave so it doesn’t matter - it looks the same at all times of the day. Oh, you guys are gonna love this! I hope. I hope you guys love it!”

Kira and Ahna matched her pace, one of either side of her as she talked about the gardens, and the different kinds of plants that they were going to see in there. Apparently sometimes when the suns were just right in the sky, there were shafts of light that would seep through from the cavern walls, and make little beams of floating, golden dust in the air. It sounded magical - but it only worked during specific parts of the year, and the next time that would happen was months away.

The gardens actually weren’t too far a walk away, which was quite extraordinary to Ahna.

“I wonder why there aren’t more people here,” said Ahna, as they approached a strange, rocky hill. It was a mound of jagged white rock, with grooves that were filled in with moss and strange, red-coloured dirt. Tal led them around to a wedge-shaped opening that looked about big enough to fit two people into side by side.

“Yeah, well,” said Tal, unable to hide the disappointment from her voice, “you don’t really get much demand for ecotourism around here, you know? It is Risa, after all. You want me to go in first, or are you happy to go in yourself?”

Ahna and Kira exchanged a wary look. It did seem quite dark inside.

“After you, if that’s okay?” said Ahna.

“Fine with me!” replied Tal. She disappeared into the dark.

“Want me to go in first?” said Kira, although the look she gave Ahna was not without trepidation.

“Let’s go in together,” said Ahna. Her hand found Kira’s, and held on tight.

“Sounds like a plan.”

At first, Ahna thought with a pang of fear that they had been duped. The place was pitch black, with only the faintest outlines of shapes that seemed like claws and traps, and monstrous beings. As their eyes adjusted though, they became aware of a faint green glow around them. Slowly, by degrees, the images in front of their eyes developed into a lush collection of delicately patterned leaves, curling flowers, and tree trunks dusted with starscapes of tiny, glowing pinpricks. Tal kept her distance as they took in the sight of it all, watching with her own private joy to be able to share this place with people who actually enjoyed it. Ahna and Kira clung to each other, for a rare moment filled with nothing but pure delight and wonder. For the first time either of them could remember, darkness and silence was not a place of fear, but of beauty and magic. And life.

*

Garak and Julian sat on Julian’s bed together - Garak perched cross-legged on the covers, and Julian sprawled against the bedhead, his chin resting on one knee.

“I can’t believe how long you ignored me for,” said Julian. His heart wasn’t really in the argument right now, but he would stick with it - for Garak. Garak lifted his chin slightly so that he could stare down at Julian.

“My dear Doctor, I don’t believe I was the one ignoring you at all - communication is a two way street, and so if you were feeling ignored perhaps you ought to have come to me!”

“But that’s ridiculous! I did try - several times, actually. I know you love your untruths Garak, but I’ve never known you to rewrite my own actions to my face.”

“Now now, there’s no need to get yourself all worked up. I was merely saying that perhaps if you had paid a little more _attention-_ ”

“Attention? I’ve paid attention to little else for the past few weeks - I thought you wanted space, so I gave you space. I thought you wanted me to come to you so I tried, and then you… what? You fobbed me off like I was annoying you or something. How am I supposed to know what to do?”

“Ah, it looks like I may have misread the situation,” said Garak, tilting his head to the side, “it appears that you weren’t being willfully ignorant - just ignorant.”

Julian ground the heels of his palms into his eyes, letting out a noise of frustration.

“Garak,” he said, his voice cracking with emotion, “this _hurts_. You’re hurting me.”

Garak was quiet for a long while.

“Perhaps it’s for the best,” he said at length. He made to get up, but Julian’s hand shot out, catching him by the sleeve.

“Oh no you don’t,” said Julian, holding the soft fabric tight enough to crease it. Garak tried to pull away, but Julian held fast.

“I let you run off once - you’re not doing it again until we sort this out.”

“Doctor Bashir, I don’t know what you hope to achieve - clearly whatever… _relations_ we had are over now. Done for. Perhaps they were a farce to begin with.”

“You don’t believe that,” Julian ground out between gritted teeth, “and I’m not letting you go. Tell me what’s wrong. Tell me what I did.”

Garak sat back with a sigh, staring at the hand that had a white-knuckled grip on his tunic.

“I’ve always had an interest in gardening,” said Garak, his gaze unmoving. Julian said nothing. He held on, and waited.

“The interest started when I was young. A child, even. I used to grow things in little containers. Pots, boxes, little storage tins - anything I could get my hands on, with any seeds I could find. I’d water them, tend to them, watch them grow.”

“What sorts of plants? The medicinal kind? I don’t know that much about Cardassian botany really, what kind-”

“Wildflowers, Doctor Bashir,” said Garak, and he squeezed his eyes closed at the admission, as if giving up that little detail had cost him dearly. Perhaps it had. 

“I grew wildflowers from seeds that I kept in secret under my bed. On my windowsill. In the cupboard, away from where anybody could see them - it was the pursuit of a child, in hindsight… and the naivety of a child to think that anything like that could be kept secret.”

His voice sounded slightly breathless, as if he couldn’t quite draw enough air to continue. But continue he did.

“Each time I was discovered, they would be thrown out. Trampled underfoot without ceremony. I would be punished. Each time, it became harder and harder to grow them. I tried in the cupboard, but the flowers would wilt away and rot down to their roots. Once I came to the station, your Deep Space Nine, away from prying eyes… I thought I could start again. I tried, you know. But the station is too cold and dark, and I - perhaps I am out of practice. Maybe I will never grow flowers again.”

Garak didn’t have to explain himself. Julian understood perfectly, and it broke his heart. He moved his hand down to cover Garak’s. He held it gently, allowing the weight of Garak’s palm to rest on his. Garak didn’t move, didn’t speak. Julian lifted the hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to it, afraid of using words, for fear that they might damage the fearful admission that still hung in the air between them. Julian kissed his hand, and his wrist, and his arm, and Garak let out a shaky breath. Julian shuffled closer still, so that he was pressed up against Garak’s back. 

_I’m here_ , he wanted to say. But between the two of them, they were out of words. Julian reached around and lay his hand, palm up, on Garak’s knee. Garak took it and held it, squeezed it tightly. He brushed Garak’s hair to the side and softly kissed the back of his neck, still holding on to Garak’s hand. 

A drip of something wet and cold landed on their intertwined fingers. Julian wrapped his free hand around Garak, and held him close.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is my love letter to the lovely friends I've made while writing this absolute nonsense on the Deep Space Discord. Y'all are bonkers. I hope you enjoy!

Do Not Disturb.

There was a “Do Not Disturb” sign on their bedroom. Their _shared_ bedroom.

“Of all the ways I was expecting tonight to go, I gotta admit I hadn’t anticipated this one,” said Susan, staring at the door. 

“What do you think they’re doing in there?” said Savannah, stepping a little closer. There was no sound from inside - but then again, the rooms on Risa had _very_ good soundproofing.

“None of our business, ladies!” said Robertson, taking both of their friends firmly by the hand and leading them away.

“Besides, I have a better idea of where we can spend tonight.”

*

As it turned out, they meant the room Keiko and the rest of their friends were sharing. They were welcomed in with a great deal of excitement, everyone having decided to forego their standing invitation at the beachside bar in favour of a night in. The lounge room had been decked out with drinks and snacks, and despite the fact that it was only late afternoon, everybody was already in pyjamas. 

Susan managed to swipe an oversized shirt from Jadzia; one of the promotional t-shirts from Quark’s bar that she had cut the sleeves off. It was oddly very soft and comfortable. Savannah got Keiko’s spare pyjamas - Keiko had a spare of everything, it seemed. These ones had pictures of a little purple cat with a moon on its head printed all over it, that Keiko explained was an old Terran character named “Luna.” For Robertson, Irena shrugged and went over to the bag Garak had left behind, rummaging through his clothing. 

“I told him you know, are you packing for a holiday or a fashion show? He didn’t listen,” she murmured, rifling through the many tightly-packed items of clothing. She stopped, her eyes going wide.

“Oh my god,” said Irena.

“What?” said Robertson, then paused, “...do I want to know?”

“Look at this!” Irena shrieked, holding up a pair of galaxy print speedos.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Something tells me this is no joke,” said Irena, replacing them carefully, “but if we take them out, we will never find out. Here!”

She held up a long undershirt in a deep grey-blue, with a narrow, v-shaped neckline.

“Perfect! That looks so soft!” said Robertson, rubbing the fabric between their fingers.

“I’m ba-ack!” sang Jadzia, announcing her entrance in a sing-song voice. She placed the several bottles of local wine she had picked up on the table, and surveyed the room.

“Well, it looks like we have even fewer beds-to-people than last night,” she said, “not that it’s your fault you got booted.”

“Well, that’s not entirely-” began Robertson, but then they seemed to think the better of it. Jadzia narrowed her eyes at them.

“I’m going to pick that conversation up in a second. But first!” 

She went down into the sleeping area and grabbed the end of her bed, dragging it into the middle of the room.

“Well, what are you guys waiting for? Come on!”

They made short work of creating a little bed island, stacking all of their blankets and pillows together into one big, soft nest that everybody piled into. 

Once they were settled though, Jadzia plonked herself down right next to Robertson, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

“So,” she said, “let’s start from the part where it’s not entirely Garak and Julian’s fault that you got booted out of your room.”

Robertson looked at Savannah, then at Susan. They blushed.

“Well you see,” said Savannah, “it all started a few weeks ago, when we noticed those two had stopped meeting up for lunch…”

*

The later it got in the evening, the more Ahna began to worry. Everyone seemed to be having a great time, but the looming approach of sleep time filled them with new worries. Last night had been wonderful. She still felt the warmth from Garak’s kindness and the Kira’s companionship, but right now Garak wasn’t here. Should she say something to Kira? Work out a bit of a watch schedule - half the night each? Would it even be safe for the two of them to be sleeping in such close proximity to everybody else? 

Around her, her friends were laughing and joking and hugging, their easy familiarity making it seem like they hadn’t a care in the world. Jadzia had her head in Keiko’s lap and was reaching up to braid her hair, and somebody (probably Irena) had put Robertson’s shaggy locks into two high pigtails. Susan was stretched out across three beds, rambling about some band that she had been listening to lately, with Kira and Savannah nearby - Savannah seemingly enjoying every word and Kira listening intently, her brow furrowed in confused concentration.

“Relax,” said Bond, and Ahna jumped. When did she get there?

“I am relaxed!” she said by way of reply, her voice high and strained and anything but. Bond gave her a reassuring smile.

“I’ve got it all figured out. There’s nine of us, right? That’s an hour each, assuming we even sleep that long.”

Ahna stared at her, speechless.

“What, you think you guys have the monopoly on insomnia around here?” said Bond, though not unkindly. Somewhere, hiding in the teasing statement was an assurance that yes, she knew what they were going through.

And so it went. By stages, Bond made her way around the group quietly, as they all began to wind down and drop off where they sat. Each person would have a quiet, whispered conversation, nod emphatically, and then go back to whatever they had been doing. As if it was the easiest thing in the world to understand. 

*

There are some things too strange to examine, the beauty in their oddness too wonderful to sully with words that don’t quite articulate the ebbs and flows of the truth of the event. However it happened, the inhabitants of the little bed-island in the middle of the room shared a dream that night, without beginning, middle or end. They floated in fragments of colour and space with the faint knowledge that they were sailing. And if the stars swam below them like silvery fish, and if the moon - their moon, their personal moon, that came from all of their homes and none of them at the same time - if all of the guardians of their skies shone a little more brightly, moved with a little more light… If the seas they navigated danced rather than swirled, if the waves caressed rather than crashed... And if, in the dead of night, someone’s hand found another’s and held it tight, well, that was as it should be. They were among friends. They were safe. 

*

“Susan, hold my wine.”

“Jadzia, don’t you think you should-”

Sober up before you hit the beach, Susan was going to say, but then she thought better of it. Risa’s beaches had extremely thorough safety plans for that sort of thing, she wasn’t in any real danger. She took the mostly full bottle she’d been handed, watched Jadzia run full pelt at the surf, snatching up a random surfboard (whose??) on the way, and plonk herself face-first into the crest of a wave.

“Effervescent,” said Garak from behind her. He and Julian had just arrived, and were holding glasses of sparkling wine in one hand, and each others’ hands in the other. Apparently, Julian’s definition of beach wear was a turtlenecked rash vest (blue and neon pink, thank you very much), whereas Garak favoured an open hawaiian shirt and - much to Irena’s delight - the galaxy print speedos. He raised an eye ridge at her as he passed, and she smirked back.

They chose a sunny, smooth patch of sand to set their beach towels down on, Julian opening a huge, multicoloured umbrella to keep the sun off him while Garak stretched out, basking in the warmth. Julian watched him, so full of affection and elation he thought he might burst. He brushed the backs of his knuckles against Garark’s arm, and the Cardassian smiled, humming softly with pleasure. He opened one eye to squint up at him.

“Really now Doctor, is it always your habit to disturb peoples’ sleep like this? I can’t say I can imagine your patients taking kindly to interruptions like this.”

“Not everyone Garak, just you,” said Julian, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

Garak wasn’t quite fast enough to conceal his smile.

“Well,” he said, “It’s the least you can do if you’re going to assault my eyes with whatever _that_ is you’re wearing.”

Julian looked down in feigned offence.

“How dare you! I’ll have you know this is an extremely fashionable piece of beachwear.”

“Don’t make me laugh Doctor, I’m trying to nap,” said Garak, patting his leg. He wriggled up onto his elbows and looked around the beach, where all their friends were running about.

“Take Jadzia for example. An athletic cut of swimwear, but still slightly glamorous from the rainbow oil slick fabric.”

“Oh, we’re a fashion critic now are we?” said Julian, glancing at Jadzia. He really couldn’t keep his eyes off Garak for very long, though.

“Really Doctor, do you think I would have clients if I didn’t know what I was talking about? Now, have a look at Keiko. Yellow gingham print one piece to go with the straw sunhat, with an extra wrap skirt for when she’s not swimming. The pieces don’t match, but they’re _harmonious_. They’re not an assault on the eyes.”

“What about Irena? Thoughts on her outfit?” said Julian, teasing.

“No comment,” said Garak, “this is Irena we’re talking about, she’s a vintage starlet at all times.”

“I’d like to see how Savannah and Susan feel about about your comments too actually - they’re both in tshirts and shorts! Actually, I think Susan’s wearing Jadzia’s shirt that she stole from Quark’s merchandise stand that time we had a dare-”

“Yes yes, but it would be unfair to comment on their garments when they clearly arrived without the help of a personal tailor,” said Garak. Julian stared at him.

“Wait, so you mean you - you made everyone’s outfits?” 

He sat up properly, looking at all of the colourful people running around the beach. They did indeed look _very_ well dressed. And everyone seemed to have something that suited them perfectly, like the outfit had been created with their exact personality in mind. 

“Oh Garak, you are a sweet old lizard at heart, aren’t you?” 

“I can’t imagine what you might mean,” said Garak. His voice had taken on an edge, his guard up. No matter, they were early days yet - Julian dropped the thought.

“So when are you going to make me one of your beach creations, then?” he said instead. Garak stayed staring out at the ocean.

“You’ve got one waiting for you back at the station, actually,” he said. 

He knew Julian would like it too - it was soft, and the seams were all carefully sewn down as smoothly as they would go - Robertson loved theirs, so hopefully Julian would too. The thought gave him an electric spark of excitement.

A screech from the water’s edge snapped their attention back - Susan was now perched on Jadzia’s shoulders as she splashed around in the waist-deep shallows. Savannah was splashing them back, laughing. Julian’s face broke into a grin as he watched his friends.

“Go on,” said Garak, waving a hand in their direction, “you know you want to.”

Julian gave him a peck on the lips and then ran to the water, shouting as he lifted Savannah easily onto his shoulders and steered her towards Susan, shouting as they immediately settled in to try and topple each other.

“I’m glad you feel that way now,” said Irena, taking advantage of the shady spot Julian had left next to Garak.

“Why do you do that?” said Garak, watching as Julian tried to kick water at Jadzia’s face but instead slipped backwards, sending himself and Savannah flying backwards into the ocean.

“Do what?” said Irena, the picture of innocence.

“Bypass whatever I’m going to say like I’ve already said it,” he said. Irena stuck her tongue out.

“Saves time. I’m happy for you,” she replied, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He looked at her in surprise.

“Why Irena, I had no idea you cared.”

She tugged the brim of his hat down over his eyes.

Robertson broke through the surface of the water next to Julian and Savannah, who were recovering from their fall, laughing and spluttering. They were fully dressed in a brightly coloured button down and trousers - they didn’t own anything to swim in, but strangely it didn’t seem to bother them. What did though, was Jadzia running full pelt at Julian, tackling him into the water and sending them back over into the surf too.

Kira and Ahna watched from a little ways away, just enjoying the coolness of the ankle deep water as they walked along the beach. 

“Guys! Kira, Ahna - I’m so glad I caught you guys!”

Tal was running towards them, waving.

“Hi!” she said, a little breathlessly as she caught up, “you guys were really fun to hang out with yesterday, so I wanted to make sure that I said goodbye before you left!”

“That’s so sweet of you!” said Ahna, taking both her hands in greeting. 

“It’s not often we get people around here who actually want to, you know, hang out and see the sights so I had a really good time,” said Tal with a smile. 

“You know, you mentioned that yesterday, and it’s still so surprising to me,” said Kira, “although I guess people don’t normally come here for that sort of thing. From what I’ve heard, anyway.”

“No, they really don’t,” said Tal, looking a little disappointed. Kira and Ahna shared a look.

“Well, you’re welcome to come visit us on the station any time you like!” said Ahna.

“Yeah! I think you’d like it - there’s some wacky things going on around every corner, and maybe we can return the favour and show you around,” added Kira. 

Tal looked extremely excited at the prospect.

“That’s awesome! When do you guys leave?”

“Oh, I was more talking about-” Kira paused. When was she talking about? If Tal was keen now… then why not?

“We leave tonight! 20:00. Come on, you should meet the others!”

Kira and Ahna each took her by the hand, and led her over to where Jadzia was now on the shore, looking around in confusion.

“Where’s my Chardonnay? Susan, where did you put it?” she said.

“I stuck it in the sand right there!” said Susan, “there’s even a hole where it - oh my god Jadzia, _look!”_

All eyes went to the ocean, where Garak was currently riding a wave in to the beach. He was balanced perfectly on the surfboard, his body moving fluidly to compensate for the rocking of the huge waves. He made direct eye contact with Jadzia and took a drink from the bottle.

“Well fuck me sideways,” said Jadzia, her hands on her hips.

Suddenly, the surf took a turn, and Garak was dumped unceremoniously into the swirling water. When the splashes cleared, there was a single hand sticking out of the water, holding the wine aloft like a trophy.

“Get him!” screamed Julian, his long legs already splashing through the water like a man on a mission. The group moved as one, splashing and shouting, half-stumbling through the water on legs that could barely stand from laughing so hard. Beyond the horizon, the twin suns of Risa began their slow descent into the horizon - but for a second, even they stopped to watch, and let this moment linger on for a little longer. They deserved it.


End file.
